It’s back-to-school time again, and for hard-pressed parents, that means it's time to cough up a few thousand euro -- or more. It now costs up to €2,260 a year to put one child through public school. If you're putting four children through public school, that bill could be as high as €9,040 this year. The financial headache gets worse if you're sending children to private school.

It will cost over €7,000 to send one child to private secondary school this year, according to research published last week by Bank of Ireland and www.schooldays.ie -- an online resource for parents and teachers that facilitates second-hand book buying and selling. If you're sending a few children to boarding school, chances are you'll need to earn well over the average industrial wage to afford the fees. Some boarding schools charge as much as €22,000 a year per child. Most boarding schools justify their fees because they include the cost of accommodation, meals, recreational activities and tuition. Private school fees, meanwhile, are often justified by the performance of their pupils -- a recent study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, for example, found that pupils at private schools outscored those in public schools in reading tests.

However, some public schools, particularly all-Irish schools or those run by religious orders, see a higher proportion of their pupils go to college than some of the private schools do.
For many families, however, private schools are a luxury they cannot afford.
Whether you're sending your child to a public or private school, back-to-school costs will no doubt be wearing you down. So what can you do to cut down on the bill?

BOOKS
You could pay a third of the price for your school books if you buy them second-hand instead of new. For example, the second edition of the Leaving Cert history book, Modern Ireland, costs €34.25 if you buy it new in Eason's. You could have snapped up the same book for as little as €10 on www.schooldays.ie. The first edition of the Junior Cert science book, Discovering Science, costs about €34 new. Last week, you could have bought it for €10 on www.schooldays.ie. "Make sure the version of the book you're buying second-hand is the version your school is using this year," said Annmarie Wade, Schooldays.ie director.

Thankfully, the costly days of buying a different version of the same school book every couple of years should now be gone thanks to a new code of practice. Under the code, which the main educational publishers have agreed to, new editions of school books must be in print for at least six years. Remember, if you buy a second-hand book from a shop, you are still entitled to a refund if it is damaged.
"Second-hand books still need to be fit for purpose," said Wade. "So if a chunk of a book is missing after you buy it from a retailer, you're still entitled to a refund."

If buying your school books online, buy from someone in your local area so that you can collect the books directly. Otherwise, you will have to pay for postage. Postage for a small parcel with An Post costs €6.50 -- but a larger parcel will set you back €14.50. If you're struggling to afford school books this year, check if your school has a book rental scheme.

About three-quarters of public primary schools run book rental schemes, according to a recent survey by the Department of Education and Skills. As secondary school books cost more than three times as much as primary school books, book rental schemes are badly needed in second level. Precise figures for secondary schools that run book rental are unavailable, but among those that do are St Peter's College, Dunboyne, Meath; Donahies Community School, Dublin 13; De La Salle College, Churchtown, Dublin 14; Colaiste na Sceilge in Caherciveen, Kerry; Deele College in Lifford, Donegal; Arklow Community College in Wicklow and Clonakilty Community College, Cork. Among the primary schools offering book rental schemes are St Bridget's Monastery in Muinebeag, Carlow; Little Island National School in Cork; Scoil Colmcille Naofa in Templeogue, Dublin 16 and Loreto National School in Dalkey, Co Dublin.

UNIFORMS
It costs €335 to kit out a child for secondary school, and that includes uniform and footwear, according to children's charity Barnardos. If your school allows generic school clothing ...read the rest of this article by Louise McBride here

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